Fifty years ago, as a young press photographer, I photographed Gough Whitlam the day after the infamous sacking of the Whitlam Government — an occasion now referred to as the "Dismissal".
My image captures Whitlam, shellshocked, after his progressive Labor Government was controversially ripped away on 11 November 1975 by Australia's Governor-General of the day, Sir John Kerr.
One thing I have learned in my 50 years as a photojournalist is that photographs grow in power over time. In 1975, that image was front-page worthy and rightfully so; however, as the years passed, it became an increasingly powerful historical document.
By the turn of the 21st Century, this photo perfectly recalled one of the most contentious moments in Australia’s political history. When, in 2010, it was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, the portrait gained even greater potency.
And when the great man passed away in 2014 at the age of 98, the image grew in power once more.
It does so again as the 50th anniversary of the Dismissal approaches.
**This photograph is part of an IA series that looks at Australia through the lens of award-winning photojournalist Bill McAuley.**
Bill McAuley's 40-plus-year news career began in 1969 as a cadet photographer at 'The Age' in Melbourne.
He has several published collections, including 'Portraits of the Soul: A lifetime of images with Bill McAuley' and 'Last light on Victoria Dock, 1999'. To see more from Bill, click here.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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